Actually to give Winstar a plug they sell the Hou films NOW to institutions with Public Performance Rights Jessica Rosner kino > From: Lang Thompson <[log in to unmask]> > Reply-To: Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]> > Date: Sun, 8 Oct 2000 20:44:56 -0400 > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: Asian Films > >> Secondly, I'm very impressed with the work of Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao >> Hsien, but, although many of his more recent films are touring around, they >> have not been released on video. I've seen A TIME TO LIVE AND A TIME TO DIE >> and DUST IN THE WIND (and FLOWERS OF SHANGHAI and GOODBYE SOUTH GOODBYE in >> the theater). Are there other ones that should be out? > > All the Hou films in Winstar's travelling exhibition will be released on > tape/DVD by Fox Lorber probably late next summer. They haven't actually > been scheduled yet but an executive at the label did confirm the release. > There are always possibilities if you can't wait. "Flowers of Shanghai" is > available on an import DVD from Hong Kong (or maybe Japan as I've also > heard); it's region one which means it works in North American machines but > the only drawback is that it was made from a PAL master and is therefore > slightly time-compressed. (The subs are also a bit hard to read.) > Everything else back to "The Sandwich Man" has appeared in various formats: > Australia's wonderful SBS channel, Taiwanese laserdisc (now OP) for "City > of Sadness," Japanese VCD for "Daughter of the Nile," broadcasts on the BBC > and ARTE; you'd have to hook up with a trader/collector for these except > that the VCDs can be ordered from several online companies. (Assayas' > documentary on Hou called "HHH" has recently turned up on VCD as well.) > Occasionally some of these can be found in Chinese video stores but they're > not always subtitled. And if anybody has tapes of Hou films *before* "The > Sandwich Man" please let me know. > > >> Also, people have recommended the work of Edward Yang (also Taiwanese), but >> I don't think anything he has is on video. Any recommendations on where/how >> to find his work? > > Roughly the same answer as above. Available in the US are "The Terrorist" > (aka "The Terrorizer" and various other spellings) but the quality isn't > too hot, and "That Day on the Beach" which I haven't seen. I know somebody > who ordered both from Amazon but you can probably get them from Facets > (which also does rent by mail). All Yang's other films are available from > collectors as well. > > Tsai Ming-liang is another Taiwanese director worth checking out. > > >> Finally, BRIDE WITH THE WHITE HAIR was particularly striking in its visuals. >> Are there other movies that seem equally filled with visual fireworks? Or by >> the same director? > > If you mean "Bride"'s style in general, it shares many elements of that > with other HK films, especially supernatural ones. Try "Bride"'s sequel, > "A Chinese Ghost Story" (esp the first one but parts two and three are also > worth seeing), "Peking Opera Blues" (or other Tsui Hark films like "The > Blade" or "Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain"), "Mr. Vampire" and > "Rouge." HK action films can be just as stylish but it's with many of > these supernatural films that you get extreme camera movements and tilts, > strange lighting effects, accelerated editing and lots of smoke to disguise > the cheap sets. Of course if visual fireworks is what you're after, don't > pass up anything by Wong Kar-Wai. "Fallen Angels" is my favorite but the > avant-garde martial arts "Ashes of Time" is certainly an eye-opener. > Unfortunately his weakest film "Chungking Express" is also the easiest one > to find in the US because of its release by Tarrantino's Rolling Thunder. > > > > ------------------------------------------- > Adventures In Sound > http://wlt4.home.mindspring.com/adventures.htm > > Outsider Music Mailing List > http://wlt4.home.mindspring.com/outsider.htm > > Documentary Sound > http://wlt4.home.mindspring.com/adventures/documentary.htm > > Full Alert Film Review > http://wlt4.home.mindspring.com/fafr.htm > > ---- > Screen-L is sponsored by the Telecommunication & Film Dept., the > University of Alabama: http://www.tcf.ua.edu > ---- Screen-L is sponsored by the Telecommunication & Film Dept., the University of Alabama: http://www.tcf.ua.edu